Spring has sprung, and with it comes budding new board members! We’re absolutely thrilled to announce the latest additions to our dynamic team – not one, but two stellar individuals who are joining us as esteemed board members. Whitney Rencountre II and Claudia Vucurevich bring a wealth of insight, passion, and a deep commitment to our community.

Whitney Rencountre II builds bridges in the communities he serves. Whitney is Crow Creek Hunkpati Dakota from the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and CEO of the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. Whitney previously served as Associate Director and Instructor at The Indian University of North America®. Whitney was a 2019 Honoree of Western South Dakota Child Protection Council. Whitney was named one of 605 Magazine’s South Dakota Young Leaders of 2017. Whitney served as Chairman of the South Dakota Humanities Council and Chairman of Visit Rapid City. For 11 years, Whitney was Director of the Ateyapi Program, a culturally based mentoring program working with over 1,000 students each year in the Rapid City Area School District.

Claudia Vucurevich brings her insight on John T. Vucurevich’s vision. A life-long disability advocate and former elementary educator, Claudia Vucurevich has previously served on the Board of Directors for Lifescape, South Dakota Guardianship Program, South Dakota Guardianship Trust Fund, and Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Black Hills. Claudia was daughter-in-law of our Founder John T. Vucurevich. She was married to his son, and former JTVF board member, Tom Vucurevich for 52 years before his passing earlier this year.

 For more on all of our Board Members, check out Our People page